One Step Forward, Another Step Back
by Carrie Underwood Fan
Summary: When Lily's birthfather is killed, it opens up a door that Meredith and Derek aren't sure they're ready to explain to they're daughter. Can they keep they're family together? Will Lily be angry?
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay everyone welcome to my new story "One Step Forward, Another Step Back." the anticipated sequel of "One Step At A Time." This takes place directly after the last chapter of "One Step At A Time." Hope everyone enjoys the first chapter!**_

Meredith felt her throat go dry as she comprehended who this young woman was who was standing in front of her. She put a hand to forehead to try and stop her thoughts from racing so quickly.

"I'm not a stalker or anything, I called the agency I went through and they gave me your address. I promise not a weirdo… I just… I can go." said Charlotte turning to leave.

"Listen… its not we're not going to tell her about you, it's just she's only six my husband and I were planning on waiting to tell her." said Meredith. "If she wants to know you when she's older it's her decision but not right now. We just…. she can't…not right now." said Meredith.

"I understand, I just want you to know that her… um birth father was in a car accident and killed three days ago."

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Meredith lay in bed late that night, waiting for Derek to get off his shift. All she could think about was what Charlotte said. Lily's birthfather, one of the people that gave her life was killed. Was she supposed to tell her daughter? She lifted her head from the pillow and looked up into the dark room to see Derek pulling his shoes off and climbing into bed. She immediately cuddled up against his chest as he kissed her forehead and went to close his eyes, before Meredith stopped him.

"We have a problem." said Meredith.

"We do?" asked Derek flipping the lights on knowing this was going to involve a discussion.

"Lily's birthmother came to visit me today, before Lily came home." said Meredith

"What? What'd she want?" asked Derek.

"She came to tell me that Lily's birthfather was killed." said Meredith. " I told her we hadn't told her about her before she said this and… I don't know Derek." sighed Meredith.

"You don't know what Mere?" asked Derek.

'I don't know if we should tell her or not. I feel like we're hiding something from her." said Meredith as she rolled onto her pillow and rubbed her head, at the headache this beginning to form from all the stress.

Derek stayed silent for a moment just staring up at the ceiling, his hands rested under his head propping him up. "I don't know what we should do. It could go badly; this isn't something a kid takes easily. She could be hurt or upset or she might still be too young to understand." said Derek.

"I think whatever we say is going to be the wrong answer. We also have to tell Katherine and Liam. This doesn't affect just her it affects the whole family." said Meredith.

"I know. Maybe we should wait." said Derek turning himself over to face Meredith completely.

Meredith shook her head. "I don't know… I think we should tell her." said Meredith.

Derek sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "It's up to you Mere, whatever you think is best, and I'll support you with."

Meredith lay in silence for a few minutes before letting out a sigh as she rubbed her head in frustration. "You're not supposed to leave it all on the hormonally crazy pregnant woman." joked Meredith.

Derek slightly smiled as he put his arms around Meredith, pulling her closer. She lay there completely still for a few minutes before turning over, to face him again.

"I think we need to tell her."

_**I know it was short, but it was just the first chapter! Reviews make my day!**_


	2. Christmas Trees and Scary Questions

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone, hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.**_

Meredith stared at her decaffeinated coffee the next morning, as she sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Today was a Saturday and both she and Derek had off today. Since it being early December they were going to go and cut their Christmas tree today. She felt Derek's arms wrap around her as he kissed her cheek. Meredith then turned around and kissed him.

"I think we should take Lily out to dinner tonight by herself and talk to her." said Meredith.

Derek nodded. "I think that's a good idea. We'll tell her when she wakes up." said Derek.

Meredith nodded "I'll tell her not to mention it to the others. I'll also call Lexie to come and stay with the others." said Meredith as looked up to see Lily come running into the kitchen.

"Mommy!" said Lily as she ran into Meredith hugging her tightly.

Meredith gently wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Will she still be running to me like that when she knows?' thought Meredith to herself as Lily pressed a kiss to her swollen stomach.

"Morning baby sister." said Lily.

"Baby sister?" mused Derek as he picked her up tickling her. "I don't think so Liam and I think it's a boy this time." said Derek as Lily's giggles filled the kitchen.

"Nah-uh." said Lily pressing her forehead against Derek's. "Girl, Daddy, Mommy even said so." said Lily looking over at Meredith.

Meredith smiled and shrugged her shoulders as Derek looked at her, with an eyebrow raised. "Lily is it okay if you, I and Daddy go out for dinner tonight. Just the three of us?" asked Meredith as she watched her daughter's eyes light up in surprise.

"Just us?" asked Lily surprised.

Meredith could understand at how her daughter was surprised at that. If they did anything like that it was usually done all together, except for occasional one on one time. When each child did get to spend time with their parents, they absolutely enjoyed it. Liam and Derek would go fishing and it would be all Liam would talk about for days. It was positively adorable at how much Liam looked up to his father. When Meredith and Katherine could spare some alone time, Meredith usually took her to the bookstore, because she loved to read. They'd spend a couple of hours, reading and picking out books and would usually end up getting frozen yogurt together afterwards. Lily absolutely loved to go shopping. That little girl was so much into fashion it was scary. She was constantly aware of what was in and out and even sometimes criticized what her family wore, because it wasn't "in style." So normally when she had her moment alone with one of her parents they would usually end up at the mall. Madison was really simple. If you just colored or played play-doh with her for a couple of hours, she was completely content. For the most part they're children were very well behaved. They rarely got in trouble in school and occasionally acted up at home. They did argue with each other a lot, but most siblings do.

"Just us." said Meredith as she patted down her daughter's light blonde waves. "Don't your brother and sisters though, leave that to me and Daddy." said Meredith.

"Okay, I pinky promise." said Lily sticking her pinky out towards Meredith as she pinkie promised her mother. "I'm going to go watch cartoons." said Lily jumping down from her father's arms and running into the living room. Meredith shook her head.

"I can't do this. I can't do this to her. I can't suddenly wreck her little life." said Meredith.

"I know you don't want to do this." said Derek as he hugged her as she laid her head on his chest. "But we're going to have to tell her sooner or later."

"I know."

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Meredith sat in the front seat of the car as she listened to her kids excitedly chatter away about how big their Christmas tree was this year, compared to last year. She looked out the window looking at the dark grey sky, that was reminding her of how she felt right now, anticipating tonight's dinner.

"Oh my god." gasped Meredith as she put a hand to her stomach.

"What?" asked Derek as he kept one eye on the road and turned to look at her ever so slightly.

"The baby moved for the first time." said Meredith placing one of Derek's hands that wasn't on the steering wheel onto her stomach.

A chorus's of "The baby moved! , "I want to feel!" was heard from the back seat as Derek grinned feeling his child move beneath the woman he loved. No matter how many kids you have, that feeling feels just the same as it did the first time.

"Mom did I move a lot when I was inside of you?" questioned Katherine from the way back of the car.

"You didn't move around to much Kat. You were pretty mellow." said Meredith as she smiled remembering.

"What about me Mommy?" asked Maddie.

Meredith and Derek both laughed at that one. Meredith then turned around tickling the three year olds foot slightly. "You we called our future soccer player, because you never stopped moving and you kicked so hard." said Meredith.

"Mom, remember when my ear was pressed up against my stomach and she kicked it." said Katherine.

Meredith smiled at her daughter. "I do remember that sweetie." said Meredith with a small laugh.

"Mommy did I move a lot?" asked Liam

This time Derek smiled as he remembered feeling Liam kick for the first time. Since he hadn't been around when Meredith was pregnant with Kat, it felt incredibly exciting to him. Meredith then answered.

"You didn't kick a lot, buddy. Just enough to keep me awake at night." said Meredith. "You did occasionally want a snack at three o'clock in the morning." said Meredith smiling at Derek as he rolled his eyes remembering the late night trips to the grocery store for some weird cravings.

"What about me Mommy? How was I?" asked Lily.

Meredith's smile faltered slightly as she looked at Derek, almost looking for the right answer. "You didn't move too much sweetie." answered Meredith quietly, before turning around and keeping silent for the rest of the ride. She felt Derek's hand squeeze hers gently as they pulled into their land. Meredith then ushered the kids into the house, while Derek pulled the Christmas tree out from the roof of the car, but not before shooting him one last worried glance.

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That night Meredith slipped on her black flats as she quickly finished getting ready for their dinner. Lily had been allowed to choose the restaurant and chose a casual bistro in the town. She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror adjusting her lavender maternity blouse that was under her, black sweater. Looks were the least of her problems tonight. She had no idea how she was going to explain this to Lily, or how Lily was going to react. She quickly left the room and walked down the stairs to see Lexie smile at her sadly, knowing why they were taking Lily out to dinner by herself. She walked to door to see Lily standing there with her coat on and carrying one of her black sparkly purses,

"I'm ready Mommy!" said Lily as Derek opened the door letting the excited six year old wait right outside on the porch. He then held out Meredith's jacket so she could slip into it.

"Ready?" asked Derek as they shut the door, after waving to the others and taking her hand

"As ready as I'll be."


	3. Secrets at the Dinner Table

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone, sorry it took me longer then it usually does, I had to organize my thoughts, it took much longer than I would have liked to have, but at least we finally have a complete chapter!**_

Meredith sat down on the chair inside the bistro, after a car ride of Lily saying how much she enjoyed being with just her parents and her. No sibling to fuss and worry over. This was making Meredith feel extremely guilty, that her daughter was so happy about this and they were going to turn this night into something she'd probably never forget.

"Daddy can I get a Shirley temple?" asked Lily.

"You can get any drink you like Lily-Bean." said Derek as he glanced over the menu.

Meredith sipped the glass of water that was just given to her by one of the waiters. She let out a nervous breath as she looked at Derek who sympathetically smiled gently. Lily was furiously at work at drawing with the crayons given to her.

"What are you going to order Lily?" asked Meredith as she closed her menu.

"A salad." said Lily as she smiled up at her mother before continuing to color.

Meredith rolled her eyes as Derek smirked at her. Unlike her, her children were extremely heath conscious eaters. Thanks to Derek. The waiter came and took their orders as Meredith quietly twiddled her thumbs as she listened to Lily finish telling a story about something that happened at school. She nodded at Derek.

"Lily, there's something Daddy and I need to tell you." said Meredith. "Something that's going to be a little hard to understand. Lily nodded as she looked at her mother with wide blue green eyes. "Well…., you see…. Ok Lily, you understand how Mommy has a baby in her stomach and that when it's ready it'll be born." asked Meredith.

"Yeah, Daddy put it there." answered Lily simply.

Derek's eyes widened immediately at how his six year old daughter knew that at such a young age. "Right." continued Meredith. "When you were born you didn't come from Mommy's stomach." explained Meredith as best as you could. "You were born from someone else's stomach. They couldn't take care of you the way a Mommy and Daddy should take care of a baby. So Daddy and I adopted you, because we knew you were supposed to be ours and that'd you turn into a lovely little girl. Do you understand Lily?" asked Meredith gently.

"So you're not really my parents?" asked Lily quietly.

"No Lily we are, it just means like what we said, how a Mommy and Daddy can put a baby, in the Mommy's stomach. Someone different did that for you, but we're still your parents." said Derek.

Lily looked down at the table. "So everyone in our family is like that." said Lily.

"No, sweetheart… just you are." answered Meredith quietly.

Lily looked down at the table again for a minute, she then looked up at shoved the glass of water, knocking it onto the table. She immediately got up out of her chair and ran out of the restaurant.

"Lily." Meredith called after her as both her and Derek got up quickly and followed after her. They went outside and were surprised to find that she wasn't right outside the door. They both frantically looked around until they saw her sitting on a bench a few feet away from them. Meredith walked over there and sat down next to the sniffling girl. She gently pulled her into her arms, against the young girls protesting. Lily finally settled and cried into her mother's jacket.

"I want my real Mommy and Daddy."

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After a silent car ride, the Shepherd family arrived back at the house. Lilly immediately ran upstairs to her room slamming the door. Lexie looked up from her book, that she was reading the living room. She quickly grabbed her stuff and looked at Meredith eyeing her to call her tomorrow.

"Mommy?" questioned a sleepy Katherine as she came down the stairs. "What's going on?"

Meredith pushed back some of the hair in her daughter's face and kissed her forehead gently. "Nothings going on, why aren't you sleeping?"

"Lily's door slamming woke me up." said Katherine with a yawn.

"Well you still look very tired too me Kat. Come on I'll tuck you back in." said Derek as he led her to the stairs and followed behind her.

Meredith sighed as she slipped her shoes off by the stairs. This night had gone just how she'd predicted it would. Horribly wrong. She carefully climbed up the stairs and walked towards Lily's room. She gently knocked on the door, before entering. She entered the room to find Lily face down crying into her pillows, her little party dress still on. She sat down and gently rubbed her back. Lily then sat up and looked at her mother before hugging her and crying into her yet once again. Meredith felt immense sorrow for even telling her daughter this. Obviously she knew she was going to have to tell her daughter sooner or later. She was just planning on it being later, when Lily could understand better and not be so upset. She gently removed her daughter's dress and changed her into a pair of pajamas. She then tucked her in, kissing her forehead and quietly leaving the room. She then went into her bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of leggings and one of Derek's shirts. She then crawled under the blanket and shut her eyes trying to drown out the events of today. She felt Derek's arm wrap around her and she turned slightly to see him lying next to her.

"We'll get through this, we'll get Lily this and the kids through this and we'll get through this." said Derek as he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb across her cheek.

She nodded as she as he she lay her head against him. She gently rubbed his chest. "How are we going to get through this?" asked Meredith.

"We just will."


	4. Questions and Unexpected Phone Call

_Sorry it took me so long to update this story! Life just got in the way! Thanks for everyone's wonderful reviews and comments, Enjoy!_

Meredith sat the next morning at the island sipping her tea as she tried to keep her eyes open. She hadn't slept at all last night, or Derek. They had been up almost all night talking and pondering what to do next. Derek finally crashed at three, but Meredith hadn't slept a wink. She yawned as the toast popped up from the toaster and she slightly waddled over to it. She then sat down rubbing her stomach.

"Stay in there as long as you can. It's a crazy world out here." said Meredith as she looked up to see Derek coming into the kitchen.

"Talking to my son again." said Derek with a smirk. "Scaring him from the outside world."

Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You and Liam are going to be so disappointed when this baby arrives and it's another girl." said Meredith as she bit into her toast. He then walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders gently, before stealing her second piece of toast. He gently bit into it as he walked back over to the brewing coffee machine.

"Did you fall asleep last night?" asked Derek as he poured himself a hot cup of coffee.

"No, I couldn't stop thinking about… Hi Lily-Bean." said Meredith as she turned to see her daughter walk sleepily into the kitchen. She completely walked past Meredith and Derek and patted Chip who was asleep by the oven.

"You want something for breakfast Lily?" asked Derek as he poured some muesli in a bowl.

"Muesli please." said Lily as she went and sat down on the opposite side of the kitchen island. She then took the bowl when her father placed it in front of her moments later. She took spoonfuls in silence until she looked up with a curious expression on her face. "How can I like muesli if I'm not really yours?" asked Lily.

Meredith stood up and walked over to her daughter. She gingerly placed a hand on her cheek. "Lily, just because you weren't in my stomach and everything, doesn't make you any less of not being ours. We're you're parents. And I know it's hard for you to understand, because you're still little…. but if you have any questions you can always ask Daddy or me."

Lily nodded as she kept eating. She then looked up moments later. "I still love you guys." said Lily.

Derek walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We love you too."

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Meredith sat in the living room later that afternoon admiring the Christmas tree from afar. They had put it up yesterday, and even Meredith who wasn't too particularly fond of holidays enjoyed looking at it. She looked up as she heard someone come into the room, to see Katherine with a worried expression on her face.

"Mommy, Lily just told me she's adopted… she's kidding right?" asked Kat nervously.

"Come here Kat, you're old enough to hear this." said Meredith patting the spot next to her on the couch. Kat walked over and sat next to her mother. "Lily is adopted. Remember we talked about this a long time ago, when we first brought her home." said h Meredith.

"Kind of." answered Katherine. "She gets to stay with us though right? Someone isn't going to come and take her away?"

Meredith smiled slightly at her daughter's admiration and love for her sister. "No, she's part of the family. But these next couple of weeks are going to be hard for her. She's going to be confused and…., you just have to be nice to her. Try not to argue." said Meredith. "Okay?"

"Okay." said Katherine as she got up and went back upstairs.

Meredith sighed as she put her hands on her forehead trying to prevent the migraine that she knew was coming. She jolted up when she heard the phone ring. She quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, this Charlotte Hopkins"

_**Dun Dun! What could she possibly want? Find out in the next chapter!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Okay there really is no excuse for not updating this story. I can say life got in the way, because if life got in the way I wouldn't have updated any stories at all. Truth be told I honestly had no idea how to continue this story, I had major writers block. But now I have A LOT of time to think about to think about this story and with the help of a friend, have come up with what I think is a great idea to pick up the story. Hopefully everyone out there will review because you know I love hearing your feedback, so as always, Reviews make my day!**_

"Umm, hi Charlotte. How are you?" answered Meredith with as much of a relaxed tone as she could. She gently stroked her stomach the baby obviously not liking her speeding heart-rate, had decided to start kicking.

"I'm fine." answered Charlotte awkwardly. Meredith stood with the phone pressed to her ear as the two of them both endured a horribly awkward silence. "Alright I'm just going to cut right to the chase. I was….um… wondering if I could possibly come over and you, myself and your husband could talk. About Lily." said Charlotte.

"Umm… Charlotte I really don't think that would be a great idea. The holidays are getting near and Lily is fine for now, I just think it would be better to hold off and…." started Meredith

"Please." begged Charlotte, desperation evident in her voice. "I just… I just need to talk to you about all of this. And leave something for Lily. I promise I won't stay long." said Charlotte.

Meredith let out a long sigh. "Alright fine. You can come over today at five o'clock, when my husband will be around." said Meredith

"Great. Thank you so much. See you at five." said Charlotte as she quickly hung up the phone excitement evident in her voice. Meredith groaned as she hung up the phone. She felt the baby kick harder than before.

"I'm guessing you don't think this is such a good idea either."

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Meredith paced up and down the foyer as five o'clock. Derek stood to the side and nervously watched his wife.

"Mere?" called Derek as she continued to pace. "Meredith!" he called louder as he stood in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "You're going to wear a hole in the floor." said Derek trying to ease the worrisome look on her face. He presses a kiss to her forehead as the doorbell rings, startling Meredith. Derek then stepped in front of Meredith and opened the door to reveal the young blonde.

"Umm, hi." started Charlotte nervously. She then averted her gaze focusing on her shoes. Derek opened the door wider and stuck out his hand.

"You must be Charlotte, I'm Derek Shepherd." said Derek as he shook his hands with the woman. Charlotte then entered the house.

"It's nice to see you again Meredith." said Charlotte. "This is for…" said Charlotte as she went to hand Meredith a bottle of wine but then noticed her stomach and turned towards Derek. "For you guys." said Charlotte nervously.

"Come into the living room." said Meredith as calmly as she could. They then walked into the living room and sat down. Meredith then noticed Charlotte place the other package she had been holding in her hands, onto the coffee table.

"That's for Lily." explained Charlotte. "I just wanted to bring her something. You don't have to give it to her if you don't want to." said Charlotte as she twiddled with her thumbs, clearly very nervous.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that." said Meredith as settled back against the pillow. "So Charlotte you wanted to speak to us? That's why you came right?" asked Meredith.

"Well I wanted to know if you had… told Lily about everything." said Charlotte in a slight whisper.

"We just told her last night about the whole adoption thing. I think she understands the best she can. She didn't take it well at first but she's slowly becoming somewhat okay with it." said Meredith

"Oh. So you haven't told her about David dying?" asked Charlotte.

Derek looked at the woman sitting beside him in bewilderment. What would she like him to do? Spring all these things onto his six year old daughter in one night?

"No we haven't." said Derek curtly, annoyance evident in his voice. Meredith sensing Derek's sudden mood change rubbed her finger over his hand in soothing motion.

"Oh, okay. The only thing is the funeral is in three days. I of course would like her to go though." said Charlotte.

"It's not really up to you though." said Meredith her voice rising slightly as she said this. "We as her _parents_ don't think it's a good idea to spring all this on her at once. She's six years old." said Meredith voice rising with every word.

Suddenly the three adult's ears picked up as they heard a door slam, and a pitter-patter of feet come through the foyer.

"Mommy look what Liam did to my ball!" cried Lily as she came running into the living room at full speed. Lily immediately stopped when she saw the strange woman sitting there, and in true childlike innocence said;

"Hi. Who are you?"

_**Reviews make my day =)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I'm back with updates for this story! Finally! It's not that I don't love this story; I just get wrapped up in all my other updates that this tends to get shoved to the backburner. Although I'm updating now; I probably won't be updating again for awhile; due to my crazy hectic schedule and my other stories; but I will do the best I can if people are interested! Happy Reading!**_

Meredith felt her throat dry up slightly; as her young daughter stood there doe eyed and innocent. She watched as Charlotte sat there; in awe of the little girl that stood before her. Derek patted Meredith's hand gently; bringing her back to reality.

"Lily go upstairs please. I'll talk to Liam." said Meredith as she stood and ushered her daughter over to the stairs. "Maddie's playing upstairs go play with her." said Meredith.

"But I don't want to play upstairs; I want to go outside and play with Kat." whined Lily.

Meredith gave her a stern look; before Lily noticed her mother meant business and scurried up the stairs. She waited till Lily had disappeared up the stairs; to walk back over to the couch. She looked over at Charlotte sat still wide eyed at the stairs.

"That's her?" questioned Charlotte; knowing the answer.

"That's her." said Meredith as she listened to her two daughter's laughter carry down the stairs. "That's our Lily."

The three adults sat awkwardly in silence for a few moments; each looking around not wanting to speak.

"Well." spoke Derek finally. "I think we should call it a day. Tomorrow's a school day and we have work; and the kids need to be fed." said Derek as he stood up, and Meredith and Charlotte followed in suit. The three then walked over to the door, while Derek opened it for Charlotte.

"Thanks again for letting me drop by. We'll be in touch." said Charlotte with a wave, as Derek shut the door behind her. Derek shook his head slightly at the door; an irritable look on his face.

"Something about the woman is just not right."

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Meredith groaned as she bent over and poured soup into the dishwasher. As she stood up she felt a hard kick against her abdomen. She soothingly rubbed her stomach to calm the baby down.

"I know it's been a interesting day. I promise I'm going to sleep soon." said Meredith to her stomach as she backed away from the counter; and headed to sit in the chair by the island.

"Talking to my son again." said Derek with a grin as he walked into the room; with a sippy cup that Meredith had presumed Maddie had left in the living room.

"Daughter." corrected Meredith with a smirk; as she rubbed her stomach. "I can feel it: it's a girl."

"Whatever you say." said Derek with a grin as he put the cup into the sink. He then turned and leaned up against the counter. "What are we going to do about this funeral thing? Because I know she's going to keep calling or showing up to ask." said Derek

"I don't know." said Meredith with a sigh. "I don't want her to go; because that would involve explaining everything about her birthparents; which I don't think she's old enough to completely understand yet. But then again I think maybe she does understand; and we should let her decide." rambled Meredith.

"I don't either." said Derek with a shake of his head. "I really don't know."

Meredith winced slightly and grabbed her stomach. Her eyes widened at the feeling and Derek immediately picked up on the fact that something wasn't right.

"What's the matter?" asked Derek as he walked closer to Meredith and reached out to her slightly. "What's wrong?" asked Derek concern evident in his voice.

"Nothing. Nothing. I think the baby's just getting stressed out because I'm getting stressed our by all of this." said Meredith as she looked to see Derek eyeing her skeptically. "I'm fine." reassured Meredith.

Derek sighed as he pulled Meredith into his embrace. He encircled his arms around the swell of her stomach and leaned his lips on the top of her head. Meredith leaned her head against Derek's chest; letting out a small sigh as she did.

"We need to tell her about Charlotte. And we need to tell her tonight."

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Meredith sat up in bed that night; waiting for Derek to get Lily from where she was brushing her teeth. All the other kids had gone to bed; and they had kept Lily up so they could talk to her alone. Her ears perked up as she heard Lily's giggles come down the hall. She looked up to Derek enter the room; holding Lily high in the air.

"Careful." warned Meredith with a grin; as Derek plopped both of them down onto the bed; as Lily broke into a fit of laughter. Soon enough the six year old calmed down and sat up.

"Mommy why did I get to stay up late tonight?" asked Lily as she pushed her blonde locks off of the front of her pink pajamas and tossed them behind her shoulders.

"Well Daddy and I wanted to talk to you about something. Something that's just about you and that your brother and sister's didn't need to hear." explained Meredith gently.

"What are we talking about?" asked Lily innocently.

Meredith went to speak and then turned to Derek; suddenly at a loss of words at what to tell her daughter.

"Lily-Bean remember how we were talking the other night about how you came from someone else's tummy." asked Derek.

"Yeah and how even though I'm not from Mommy's tummy like Liam; Kat and Maddie; that I'm still part of the family." answered Lily.

"That's right." answered Meredith. "And you always will be." she said as she gently rubbed Lily's pajama clad back.

"Well we've met the lady that had you in her belly; and she wants to meet you one day. And Mommy and Daddy wanted to know if that would be okay with you?" asked Derek.

"I guess. What does she look like?" asked Lily.

Meredith let out a slow breath, before speaking. "Remember that lady that we were talking to earlier today. The one that was here when you came inside to find me." asked Meredith.

"Uh-huh." answered Lily as she nodded her head slowly.

"That's her."

_**Dun dun dun!!! That's how I'm leaving it! I know I'm completely evil =D. How do you think Lily will take all these questions and news at once? How do you think Meredith and Derek will cope? Read and Review to find out!**_


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